1Excludes territories (1) to which Antarctic Treaty is applicable in whole or in part, (2) without permanent civilian population, (3) without internationally recognized civilian government (Western Sahara), or (4) representing unadjudicated unilateral or multilateral territorial claims.

Europe and the Atlantic

On May 7, 2001, the British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless, which had been stranded in Gibraltar for repairs for nearly a year, finally set sail. The crippled Tireless had limped into Gibraltar, the nearest port, on May 19, 2000, with a leak in the nuclear reactor’s coolant system; repairs took far longer than anticipated. Concern over possible radiation leaks had triggered months of demonstrations by environmental activists in Gibraltar and in nearby Spain, as well as formal protests from Madrid. In November, Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana boycotted new talks between the U.K. and Spain on the territory’s future status. London and Madrid declared that an agreement on Gibraltar would be reached by mid-2002, but Caruana reiterated that no settlement could be valid unless it was approved by Gibraltarians, who would never accept Spanish sovereignty.

In the South Atlantic a fire inadvertently started by British troops on tiny South Jason Island seriously damaged a major seabird nesting site in January; it was feared that hundreds of black-browed albatross and rockhopper penguin chicks might have perished. In March the last British troops were withdrawn from the island of South Georgia to make way for the new British Antarctic Survey base. Future security for the island would be provided by troops based in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas. A month earlier 59 young reindeer, part of a herd introduced in the early 19th century, had been transferred to the Falklands from South Georgia. After the remote island of Tristan da Cunha sustained severe hurricane damage in May, Falkland Islanders sent more than £9,000 (about $13,000) in disaster aid.

Faroe Islands Prime Minister Anfinn Kallsberg in March announced that the semiautonomous territory’s referendum on independence from Denmark, scheduled for May, would be postponed indefinitely. Internal differences among the three-party ruling coalition had led Kallsberg to abandon the strict timetable on independence, although he insisted that the Faroes would still seek full sovereignty. In July offshore test drilling for oil began almost a year after the Faroes had awarded seven oil-exploration licenses to 12 oil companies organized into five groups.

Caribbean and Bermuda

Sila María Calderón of the Popular Democratic Party was sworn in as governor of Puerto Rico on January 2. (SeeBiographies.) Although Calderón supported Puerto Rico’s status as a commonwealth with the U.S., she pledged in July to hold another referendum in 2002 on whether the territory’s 3.8 million people wished to retain their present status, become a full-fledged state of the U.S., or opt for independence. In the last such vote, in 1998, the majority came out strongly for maintaining the commonwealth relationship.

The antibombing lobby in Puerto Rico prevailed against the U.S. government in June when Washington announced it would cease using Vieques Island for target practice by navy pilots from May 2003. Opposition to the bombing policy had been increasing since 1999, when one civilian was killed and four persons were injured. The White House had previously insisted that Vieques was critical to maintaining U.S. military readiness. This position might still cause the deadline to be pushed back, however, especially in light of the war against terrorism following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Seven policemen were injured during violent protests in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, in June. The situation was triggered by the refusal of shop owners to observe May 27 as the anniversary of the abolition of slavery on the island. The union had urged businessmen to shut up shop on that day and reacted strongly against those who did not. The arrest of a union leader sparked the demonstrations.

As a sign of the gradual disappearance of the artificial barriers that had long existed between Caribbean territories with different colonial histories, Saba, a Dutch Antillean territory with a population of only 2,000, indicated in August its keen interest in joining the English-speaking Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

The self-governing Dutch territory of Aruba was commended by the International Monetary Fund in September for having improved surveillance and detection procedures relating to its growing offshore-banking sector. The opposition People’s Electoral Movement (MEP) emerged victorious in the September election, taking 12 of the 21 seats in the Aruba legislature. MEP leader Nelson Oduber became prime minister.

The New People’s Liberation Movement, led by former chief minister John Osborne, won the April general election in the volcano-ravaged island of Montserrat, taking seven seats in the nine-seat legislature. The National Progressive Party obtained the other two. The new government said it would concentrate on restoring jobs lost as a result of the still-active Soufrière Hills volcano, which erupted again in July following a partial collapse of the lava dome.

In June the Cayman Islands was removed by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from the “blacklist” of states said to be lax in tackling money laundering in the Caribbean region. Inclusion on the list had affected the Caymans’ reputation as a respectable offshore tax haven. The FATF commended the Caymanian authorities for having made “significant improvements” to anti-money-laundering systems. In Bermuda former prime minister Pamela Gordon resigned as leader of the opposition in October.

Pacific.

In May elections in French Polynesia, the pro-autonomy Tahoeraa Huiraatira (TH) party was again successful, winning 28 of 49 seats; the leading pro-independence party secured 13 seats. Gaston Flosse of the TH was returned as territorial president by the assembly, which for the first time was chaired by a woman, Lucette Taero, a former minister of employment with responsibility for women’s affairs. The new government placed a high priority on economic development, with special emphasis on tourism, pearl farming, fisheries, and agriculture. Earlier in the year the government had introduced financial incentives for tourism investment, but in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, tourist numbers fell by nearly one-quarter. Flosse advocated an expansion of local responsibilities under the constitutional arrangements with France, as well as increased formal representation in the French government through the Senate.

In New Caledonia rivalries within the pro-independence movement created a degree of political uncertainty. In April Pierre Frogier was elected president of the territory’s government. Tourism development struggled, with a continuing decline in air services from France and, as a consequence, fewer tourists from Europe. There were further difficulties in the latter part of the year arising from the impact of international terrorism on major airlines and related tourism activity. Potential for growth in the nickel industry was confirmed with major new investments proposed for nickel and cobalt deposits in both the northern and the southern regions.

Both the Cook Islands and Niue were warned by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that continuing failure to ensure tighter controls on money laundering would give rise to sanctions. Niue’s prime minister, Sani Lakatani, called for small Pacific nations to stand together against bullying from large and powerful countries. Tourism in Niue had been affected in March, and some resorts closed when the airline responsible for most international links was grounded for safety reasons. Subsequent negotiations with other airlines were affected by the events of September 11, which added to—but did not originally cause—difficulties faced by other regional carriers. In the Cook Islands, where tourism accounted for half of gross domestic product, the economy also suffered a serious downturn resulting from the fall in tourist travel and other airline difficulties after September 11. In an attempt to stimulate economic growth and address rising inflation, the government had earlier approved the introduction of a consumption tax.

The terrorist attacks on September 11 had a major impact on U.S. dependencies in the Pacific. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam assumed greater importance for both staging and training, while the bombing range on the uninhabited Farallon de Mendinilla in the Northern Mariana Islands was put to greater use. Tourism was seriously affected in all dependencies but particularly in Micronesia, which depended on tourists from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The U.S. Office of the Inspector General criticized the Guam Economic Development Authority for unauthorized tax rebates and abatements that affected tax revenues for the territory. In October Guam experienced a magnitude-7 earthquake, which caused only minor damage to buildings but disrupted power and water supplies.

In American Samoa, Gov. Tauese Sunia expressed concern over the possible implications for the territory of tax cuts proposed by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush, and legislation to prevent flow-on of any such measures was introduced. The government also attempted to tighten immigration controls by deporting those who were discovered after a brief amnesty to have overstayed their visas and proposing to hold the passports of visitors. It also adjusted employment laws to facilitate employment in the fish-canning and garment-manufacturing industries.

Indian Ocean and Southern Asia

In July 2001 Mayotte officially became a French dependent collectivity. The change to a full French departmental collectivity would take place over 10 years, with the administrative and political systems adapting to a basically Muslim society. Although French since 1841, the island had historic links to the Comoros. Illegal immigration to Mayotte (about 2,000 people annually) persisted in 2001, especially from the island of Anjouan, where a secessionist movement continued to disrupt life. (SeeComoros.)

In Réunion local elections in March gave a large victory to the right, which was generally hostile to the island’s being divided into two separate departments. The government withdrew the bill proposed in 2000. Administrative reforms were not the population’s first concern, however; high unemployment and the rapidly expanding population were the root causes of the island’s social problems.

In October Diego Garcia, the largest atoll in the Chagos Archipelago, or British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), once again became a strategically important military base, as it had been in 1991 during the Gulf War. Diego Garcia was the main American naval and air backup base in the war in Afghanistan. In November, exactly a year after a U.K. High Court ruling in their favour, the Ilois, the BIOT’s former population, continued to demand the right to return to the 65-island group.

Christmas Island was in the news several times during the year. Australia in June announced plans to build a space launch centre on the island. In August the Norwegian cargo ship Tampa, having picked up a boatload of illegal immigrants in distress, was refused permission by Australia to disembark them on Christmas Island. (SeeAustralia.) An Australian military ship eventually transported the immigrants to Nauru and New Zealand, which had accepted them temporarily. By mid-November, however, several hundred other asylum seekers had been placed in a detention centre on Christmas Island.

In East Timor the UN mandate ended in 2001 and prepared the way for independence. Indonesian Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri recognized the island’s sovereignty by making the first official visit to the capital, Dili, in September. The Timorese voted in August by universal suffrage for a Constituent Assembly of 88 members, who within three months were to prepare the first constitution of the new state. Of the 16 rival parties, the Revolutionary Front of an Independent East Timor (Fretilin), the former movement for national independence, won a comfortable majority. Fretilin’s charismatic leader, Xanana Gusmão, was expected to win the presidential elections in April 2002, and East Timor was scheduled to gain independence a month later.